Category Archives: Television

It’s that time of the year. You know the one…fresh-faced eighteen-year-olds throw off the shackles of their high school prisons and greet the “real world” — or most of them greet the crazy-college-world-that-is-nothing-like-real-world — with excitement. Their heads are filled with cliches and platitudes about taking risks, finding themselves, and how their purpose is their rudder in life. Their hands clutch their yearbooks and their hearts cling to high school friends and relationships. They are sure of themselves or completely confused, or more likely a combination of both.

Last week, in honor of the arrival of St. Patrick’s Day, we talked about setting a story in Ireland. On the heels of the holiday that drives people into drinking establishments better than any other, it seems only natural to segway into a discussion of a locale that also pops up with regularity in storytelling: the bar. Read the rest of this entry →

I’m a creature of habit. I like to go back to vacation spots I’ve visited before (I am not allowed another trip to Paris before I go to a new European city). I like to return to attractions and sites and parks I know, especially if I bring people along who have never been (I’ve been to Disney World in Orlando eleven times). And I tend to rewatch favorite television shows and movies and reread favorite books rather than watch/read new. (an old roommate once told me, in a completely non-snarky fashion, that it’s because the characters become my friends, and I think she’s right).

But I do like new experiences, really. I just have to push myself to have them and not to fall back on the comfortable and familiar. Join me as I try to consume the new as well as the old, and each month, I’ll give you my thoughts on some of the best I’ve discovered. Read the rest of this entry →

So I realized after watching the first couple of episodes that I’m going to need to increase my basic knowledge of the supernatural in order to really feel like I’m getting the richness of this show. I’ve got vampires, were-beasts, and zombies covered, but a wendigo? Thank goodness for Wikipedia. Read the rest of this entry →

It would be impossible to have a President’s week on a site that discusses creativity and storytelling without discussing the West Wing. Aaron Sorkin took television by storm in 1999 with this drama about fictional President of the United States Josiah “Jed” Bartlet and his senior staff, taking us inside the west wing of the White House and captivating audiences for seven seasons. But what is it about this show that is so compelling? Read the rest of this entry →

I love television. I especially love excellent television, but I can find the good in many things (except, perhaps, season 4013 of the Jersey Shore, Jersey Nursing Home). Because people who know me know I love television, I am constantly getting recommendations for shows to watch. Trouble is, there are too many shows, and there are other things that occupy my time, like hiking or having dinner or writing.

Thank god for the existence of Netflix and television on DVD in general. It allows me to catch up with shows that have consistently been recommended, and consume them in vast marathons, needle-to-the-vein style. On this site, I’ll be reviewing shows that I probably should have been watching all along.

One note about comments. Please try to avoid spoilers in the comments, as I’d like to try to experience these shows knowing as little advance story as possible. If you’re going to talk about spoilers, put SPOILERS at the top of your post in big letters.

First up is Supernatural, starring Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles. I like supernatural television in general — old school fan of Buffy and Angel, and The Vampire Diaries is my current obsession — and knowing this, many fans have been surprised I don’t watch Supernatural. So it’s time.

The first season has twenty-two episodes, which I’ll watch and review over the course of twelve weeks A.V. Club style: Episode One and Episode Twenty-Two will get their own posts and the rest will be reviewed two at a time. So here we go, starting with the Pilot.